Questions/ideas about Circle of Darkness...

[jamesfirecat]

I'm going to be doing some stuff with Circle of the Darkness in the near future so would like some feedback from you guys on points that are left a little unclear in the adventure book.

Are foreigners who are visiting Zhukar exempt from Zhakata's Taking? Though G'Henna is unquestionably a theocracy, the Taking is always described in terms of Zhakata's followers, and so it leaves a question open of if this was intended to be short hand for the fact that everyone in Zhukar believes in Zhakata, or if it was supposed to actually be an exemption for people who are only visiting the place thanks to the Mists.

Also, given that red is the color of the priests/inquisition, should there be any sort of a law/rule against ordinary people not associated with the Church wearing red? If someone from outside G'Henna shows up wearing red just because they like the color should they not be let into the city unless they change /dye their clothing or will they just end up getting even more "side eye" glances than normal?

I'm currently planning on having the Taking of Zhakata starts with a bunch of bells being rung to summon people, does that make sense/seem reasonable to you guys?

Also there is an interesting fine line that I'm pondering. There is a blanket rule against preaching other religions in Zhukar. But Circle of Darkness also mentions when checking into a lower class Guesting House you'll probably be expected to at least exchange religious oaths (in the sense of they say "Zhakata's Teeth", you say whatever is appropriate to your own faith) of some sort with the owner, should I toss this sort of thing on the pile of "circumstantial evidence the inquisition will use against you" or should there be more ceremony to it than that? The PCs in theory need to prove that their professed faith in genuine (or else why should they be trusted as "guests") but they can't be seen as trying to press their faith on the owner.....


Do you guys think it would be a good idea to actively show Petechanko (or however his name is spelled, the son of the dead vistana the PC's encounter at the start of the adventure who is a priest of Zhakata) being turned into a Mongrelman by Yagno shortly after they arrive in Zhukar, and if so should his charge be the heresy of believing in Zhakata the Provider (which "fits" his kind personality/is a "believable" /"reasonable" charge even if he doesn't actually do it/is innocent of that accusation) or some other crime?

[Hamiclar]

On the first question it discusses visitors and their inclusion on the dole they get three days of food instead of two like a regular citizen. The question you posed in the City if hunger section.

I really don't see red as color that is restricted the people would know the priests and swords of Zhakata which they rightly fear and privilege of being in control would allow them to live separate from the commons. The priests control through food and their right to refuse to respect or adhere to teaching of Zhakata.

Preaching other religions is strictly forbidden which includes casting spells. The people would turn them in to the swords of zhakata or the inquisition for sure. The quote from you "circumstantial evidence the inquisition will use against you" I agree with in that if the church takes you they the inn keeper or whoever can keep you stuff minus the food which would be confiscated for the dole if reported. Check out the avenue of the Gods section when I read the module originally I got a feel that a religion or religions were here when Yagno arrived but because of his charisma and assistance from another man Jugo Haskeith he met which is mentioned in 2nd ed Rav Monster Manuel 2, he was able to bring his church to power with others leaving or starting new churches in the abandoned ones. The provider may have prospered here but with decree of one aspect it was abandoned like the other faiths.

I would possibly show him being transformed by the group and others being called by the bell you mentioned earlier. The creature could be encountered the next day after the group explores the city and starting the adventure from there.

[jamesfirecat]

On the first question it discusses visitors and their inclusion on the dole they get three days of food instead of two like a regular citizen. The question you posed in the City if hunger section.

You misread me I think. I'm not asking about if visitors can get food from Zhakata Dole, I'm asking, are visitor's required to give up their food to Zhakata during the taking? Because I can not recall it directly saying they have to anywhere in Circle Of Darkness or other material on G'Henna...

The pertinent page from Circle Of Darkness (page 6) says

"In daily worship, peasants surrender their food to the priests, who "serve" it to the Beast-God at sunrise in a private ceremony. This ritual is known as Zhakata's Taking."

Now the fact that it is called "daily worship" could suggest that those who do not worship Zhakata don't have to give up their food. On the other hand, such people who do not give their food to Zhakata will be given all that much more attention by the Inquistion/be rounded up and arrested on some charge soon enough...

In the city of Hunger Section (page 12) it says "Visitors share in the ritual fasting" but taken as written, taking part in fasting could just mean not eating, as opposed to the forced surrender of food.

I may just be over thinking this a lot/looking for gaps that aren't really there, if you were running the adventure would you make the heroes surrender all their food to Zhakata's taking?

[DustBunny]

You misread me I think. I'm not asking about if visitors can get food from Zhakata Dole, I'm asking, are visitor's required to give up their food to Zhakata during the taking?

I had a look though and it doesn't really say. However given the place is essentially a theocracy based around food distribution one would suspect there is something in place.

A vague idea is to have something like Indulgences.

While visitors technically don't have to give up any food they have, if they don't buy a 'indulgence' form a priest (for a fee of course) they will be hassled by the guards/priests until they do or give up the food.

From the priesthoods point of view, the gold is worth more than the food (which they have plenty of) and from the visitors view, its easier to 'pay a fee' to avoid hassle. Devout followers may frown on the 'Food indulgence' as being a cheat and shun the buyer, but the priesthood/inquisitors are of more concern to most.

And of course, you are draining PC's of that sinful money they have been accumulating.

[jamesfirecat]

I had a look though and it doesn't really say. However given the place is essentially a theocracy based around food distribution one would suspect there is something in place.

A vague idea is to have something like Indulgences.

While visitors technically don't have to give up any food they have, if they don't buy a 'indulgence' form a priest (for a fee of course) they will be hassled by the guards/priests until they do or give up the food.

From the priesthoods point of view, the gold is worth more than the food (which they have plenty of) and from the visitors view, its easier to 'pay a fee' to avoid hassle. Devout followers may frown on the 'Food indulgence' as being a cheat and shun the buyer, but the priesthood/inquisitors are of more concern to most.

And of course, you are draining PC's of that sinful money they have been accumulating.

Glad to hear that you at least came to more or less the same conclusion I did about the situation being painfully vague, and I'll keep that Food Indulgence idea in mind...

[Hamiclar]

It would be the city dole. The city commune way of feeding the populace. I read about this type of food dole in the Roman City system which fed the peasants in the city from the food collected from farmers and Egypt. Ghena would be like this but with the loss of Falkovian grain the dole would be tighter with start of circle of darkness. The rule would apply to those which rely on the dole for subsistence. Now if a non native had brought food they would have keep the food but would have careful about eating in the city on the non dole days.

[DustBunny]

One thing to remember is that before the GC, G'Henna was part of the core, so funny foreigners were not that unusual.

It was also mentioned that merchats would often come there to sell food because of the high prices it commanded. If the priests ran around grabbing every visitors food, trade would have dried up very fast. And since selling food is illegal, you need to couch it in religious terms for them to get away with it.

Ie: The merchant 'donates' their food to Zhakata, and the priests give a sign of Zhakata's pleasure for their 'sacrifice' in the form of shiny gold coins.

So there would easily be ways for people to 'legally' avoid the taking if they could afford it. A few bits in the module implies that greasing palms gets you privliges and can turn blind eyes as long as a low profile is kept.

As for the guesting house oath. I suspect it's more the actual ritual itself, than wether you 'swear by your power'. Given that pre-CG you had a multitude of faiths about, it's seem unlikely that if you swore to 'the Great Zardoz' anyone would raise an eyebrow, but they would make note of it out of curiosity.

If you broke the oath of hospitality however (regardless of if you are genuine), the Inquisitors would take the view that not only did you offend Zhakata's hospitality, you also swore to a false god (a true believer would never break their gods oath, right?), and hence are a double damned heretic. If they're looking for an excuse to haul you off, they may ask you to tell them about Zardoz so they can 'clear the matter up' - hence catching you breaching the 'no preaching' law red handed.

As for how the Taking starts, a bit of ritual is always good. Bells, chants, incense, a parade of priests - whatever it takes to add a bit of pomp and circumstance. This should drive home the point that for the average G'Hennan 'The Taking' is a critical and revered part of their lives, and not your generic 'evil priests with some muscle' overlording over the commoners. Especially as at the end of the adventure you need the PC's to gather the 'faith power' of the people to defeat Malistroi.